MELBOURNE: Western Australia was lashed by destructive winds on Saturday as a tropical cyclone neared landfall while much of the bushfire-battered east coast faced flood warnings due to heavy rain. Severe tropical cyclone Damien was expected to make landfall on the west coast near Port Hedland, the world’s largest iron ore port, on Saturday afternoon. “Very destructive winds, very heavy rainfall and storm surge are expected as Damien crosses the coast near Dampier early this afternoon,” the agency said on Twitter. Sparsely populated Western Australia was also facing several severe fire warnings with hot temperatures expected in most of the state. New South Wales, an east coast state where nearly a third of Australia’s population lives, saw some areas drenched by the heaviest rainfall in almost 20 years, with severe weather and flash flood warnings.

Source: New Strait Times February 08, 2020 03:11 UTC